The Texas native and longtime Rockets fan who paid a league-record $2.2 billion to buy his favorite team in September, and who has already experienced early highs (a 25-4 start) and lows (five losses in the last six games) in this new NBA venture, made his fortune in dining. He oversees hundreds of restaurants as owner of Landry’s Inc., a company that includes well-known brands such as Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Morton’s Steakhouse and Rainforest Café. He routinely advises culinary types on his CNBC reality show, “Billion Dollar Buyer,” which starts its third season with the 60-year-old as the host on Wednesday.

As Fertitta learned en route to building a net worth of $2.7 billion, the dish can’t be done right without the right ingredients. No matter how good a recipe might be.

Which takes us to his Rockets, flying high for those first two months only to come hurling back down to earth when injuries to Chris Paul (again), Clint Capela and Luc Mbah a Moute were followed by Monday's revelation that MVP frontrunner James Harden would miss at least two weeks with a hamstring strain. All of this comes ahead of Thursday's matchup in Houston against defending champion Golden State, finally healthy now that two-time MVP Steph Curry is back from his ankle injury. The Warriors enter atop the Western Conference (29-8), ahead of Houston by just two games. This Rockets meal still has all sorts of potential, of course, but it’s not quite as tasty at the moment.

“It’s been great,” Fertitta said, speaking to USA TODAY Sports by phone before Sunday's win over the Los Angeles Lakers in which Harden was injured. “If you still look at our overall record, we’re thrilled to be where we are.

“I’m not worried about (the struggles). It’s a five-game stretch. Hopefully we have all of our downs now and we have all of our ups later. It’s amazing what injuries have to do with these teams winning and losing, too.”

Little did he know at the time how true those words would become.

Losing Harden is a brutal blow, as he was leading the league in scoring (32.3 points per game) and was third in assists (9.1 per). But coupled with the Rockets’ defensive struggles – Houston went from having the seventh-best defensive rating in the first 29 games to the second-worst in the past six games – it’s enough to make you wonder where they’ll be in the standings by the time Harden returns.

And how’s this for irony? Paul, who left the Los Angeles Clippers last summer in large part because he wanted to lighten his load as a primary playmaker, will have to resume that very role while leading a Rockets offense that is the league’s best thus far (113 points scored per 100 possessions). But as Feritta discussed, there’s still all sorts of excitement about this mixture of talent that he paid such a steep price to lead.

“I feel very fortunate that I got a great (group on the) business organization side of it, and I have a great organization all the way through to the team,” Fertitta said. “You know, everybody made trades in the offseason, and you never know how teams are going to jell. I think ours jelled better than anybody’s. It’s just, once again, everybody’s got to remember in this five-game losing streak we haven’t had mainly Capela or Chris or Luc, and we’re not a long rotation team.

30. Los Angeles Lakers (11-25) | Last week: 25 -
The Lakers have lost their last seven games, and just like that, have the second-worst record in the NBA and are on track to hand over their first-round pick to Boston (must fall between Nos. 2 and 5). Richard Mackson, USA TODAY Sports

29. Atlanta Hawks (10-26) | Last week: 30 - The Hawks have won three of their past four games, including routs of Washington and Portland, yet still have the worst record in the NBA and are on pace for the third-worst season in franchise history. Dan Hamilton, USA TODAY Sports

28. Orlando Magic (12-26) | Last week: 27 - The skill sets of Nikola Vucevic and Bismack Biyombo couldn't be more different, but the latter has played well since taking over the starting center duties, averaging 9.5 points, 13 rebounds and 3.3 blocks in four games. Kim Klement, USA TODAY Sports

27. Sacramento Kings (12-24) | Last week: 26 - The last time a player, 40 years or older and not named Vince Carter, scored 24 or more points in a game? Michael Jordan in 2003. Carter has two such games in the past nine months — March (24 points on 8-of-8 shooting) and last Wednesday (24 points on 10-of-12 shooting). Aaron Doster, USA TODAY Sports

26. Memphis Grizzlies (12-25) | Last week: 29 - Could Mike Conley's return be right around the corner? The star point guard, who has been sidelined since early November with soreness in his left Achilles, still doesn't have an official timetable for return, but he's made great strides in his recovery. Erik Williams, USA TODAY Sports

25. Charlotte Hornets (13-23) | Last week: 21 - The Hornets, who finished last season ranked 14th in the NBA with an offensive rating of 106.4, are 25th this season, scoring just 102.9 points per 100 possessions. Shanna Lockwood, USA TODAY Sports

24. Phoenix Suns (14-24) | Last week: 23 - T.J. Warren, who has helped lead the Suns to five wins in their past eight games, is the only player in the NBA averaging at least 19 points while shooting below 20% from beyond the arc. Brad Rempel, USA TODAY Sports

23. Dallas Mavericks (13-25) | Last week: 28
The Mavs, whose four consecutive wins have all come against teams current playoff teams, struck gold on draft night with Dennis Smith Jr. The rookie on Friday became the third-youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double. Jerome Miron, USA TODAY Sports

21. Chicago Bulls (13-24) | Last week: 24 - Only one player in the NBA is shooting at least 46% from beyond the arc and averaging 2.5 or more three-pointers made per game. That player is Nikola Mirotic. David Banks, USA TODAY Sports

20. Utah Jazz (16-21) | Last week: 19 - Donovan Mitchell, leading all rookies in scoring at 18.2 points per game, received a resounding endorsement from LeBron James after his 29-point performance in Saturday's win over Cleveland. "He's a player," James said. "Kid got a lot of game. They've been riding that wave all season since they realized what they actually got. He's not afraid of the moment. He just goes out and plays ball." Chris Nicoll, USA TODAY Sports

19. Los Angeles Clippers (16-19) | Last week: 20 -
The Clippers, who have won three consecutive games and five of their last six, are now just 1 ½ games out of eighth place in the West. Jake Roth, USA TODAY Sports

18. New York Knicks (18-18) | Last week: 17 - The Knicks entered 2017 with a 16-17 record but won just 15 of their next 49 games and missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. They head into 2018 in a similar spot, at 18-18. Aaron Doster, USA TODAY Sports

17. Philadelphia 76ers (17-19) | Last week: 18 - X-rays revealed that Joel Embiid avoided suffering a significant hand injury in Sunday's win over Phoenix, but you can't help but wonder if this will keep the oft-injured big man, who has already missed nine games this season, on the shelf for more than just one game. Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports

16. Indiana Pacers (19-18) | Last week: 12 - Veteran Al Jefferson called out his team for their lack of effort following their fourth consecutive loss Sunday — a 17-point rout against Minnesota. "We can't blame the coaches, can't blame the fans, can't blame nobody," he said. "We the ones out there. Just no effort, at all. Steve Mitchell, USA TODAY Sports

15. New Orleans Pelicans (18-18) | Last week: 15 -
Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins are on pace to become the first duo in NBA history to both average at least 25 points and 10 rebounds for an entire season, per Elias Sports Bureau, and yet the Pelicans are still mired in mediocrity, unable to get more than three games over .500 at any point so far this season. Derick E. Hingle, USA TODAY Sports

14. Miami Heat (19-17) | Last week: 14 - Only two players in the NBA averaged 17-plus points while shooting at least 54% from the field, 46% from three and 88% from the line in December. Stephen Curry, who played in just four games due to injury, was one. Josh Richardson, who played in all 15 of Miami's games, was the other. Jasen Vinlove, USA TODAY Sports

12. Portland Trail Blazers (19-17) | Last week: 16 -
While the Blazers boast the fourth-best defense in the NBA, they're 27th on the offensive end of the floor, scoring just 102.4 points per 100 possessions — a five-plus point drop off from last season. Gary A. Vasquez, USA TODAY Sports

11. Milwaukee Bucks (19-16) | Last week: 13 - If the Bucks want to be recognized with the best of the East, they have to beat them. Aside from a season-opening win over Boston, Milwaukee is 2-5 against the five teams ahead of them in the standings. Troy Taormina, USA TODAY Sports

9. Detroit Pistons (20-15) | Last week: 11 - No Reggie Jackson, no problem? Veteran journeyman Ish Smith, who has proven capable of filling a team's starting point guard void when called upon, is averaging 18 points, 4.5 assists and five rebounds in two starts since Jackson went down with an ankle injury. Aaron Doster, USA TODAY Sports

8. Washington Wizards (21-16) | Last week: 9 - The Wizards, who have won four of their past five games, have shot 42.8% from beyond the arc during that span — good for first in the NBA. Geoff Burke, USA TODAY Sports

6. San Antonio Spurs (25-12) | Last week: 6 - Just as the Spurs were becoming fully healthy, Rudy Gay was shut down for at least two weeks with a right heel injury. The veteran forward is one of just four players averaging at least 11 points and five rebounds in less than 23 minutes per game this season. Sam Sharpe, USA TODAY Sports

5. Cleveland Cavaliers (24-12) | Last week: 3 - Isaiah Thomas, who will be on a minutes restriction and won't play back-to-backs for now, says he has "no feel for the game" but that it's only a matter of time before he gets his "powers" back. Bill Streicher, USA TODAY Sports

4. Toronto Raptors (25-10) | Last week: 4 - Is it time to put DeMar DeRozan, who dropped a franchise-high 52 points in Monday's overtime win against Milwaukee, in the MVP conversation? The ninth-year guard has improved significantly as a shooter (from career averages of 0.4 three-pointers made per game at a 28.8% clip to 1.1 makes at 34.9%) and ranks second in the NBA in total points scored off drives with 345. Kevin Sousa, USA TODAY Sports

3. Houston Rockets (26-9) | Last week: 2 - The good news for Houston? They won on Sunday, snapping a five-game skid. The bad? MVP frontrunner James Harden exited the game with a left hamstring injury and will be sidelined for at least the next two weeks, which could significantly widen the two-game gap between Houston and Golden State for the top two spots in the West. Geoff Burke, USA TODAY Sports

2. Boston Celtics (30-10) | Last week: 5 - Al Horford may not be filling up the scoring column on a nightly basis, but the savvy veteran is one of just four players averaging at least 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists while shooting 50% or higher from the field. Greg M. Cooper, USA TODAY Sports

1. Golden State Warriors (29-8) | Last week: 1 - With his 10 three-pointers made Saturday night in his return from an 11-game absence, Stephen Curry — who finished with 38 points in just 26 minutes — reached nine career games of double-digit threes. The next closest players are J.R. Smith and Klay Thompson, both with three such games. Kyle Terada, USA TODAY Sports

“We’re mainly eight guys in our rotation, and when you lose three of them it totally affects the playing time and the rhythm and everything else. So that’s really why this doesn’t bother me. And it’s no different (than business). If you put the wrong management in a hotel or a restaurant or a casino, it doesn’t run right. This is nothing.”

As Fertitta has shown before, he has no problem being patient when it comes to Rockets goals. This, after all, is the man who tried to buy the team in 1993 only to see Les Alexander pay $85 million and barely beat him out. Now, with his vantage point so different and his massive investment on the line, the rookie owner is earning his veteran stripes.

“(Watching the Rockets as the owner is) totally different,” he said. “You’re watching every single play from the offensive side to the defensive side. You’re looking at everything, and you’re evaluating your own players. You’re evaluating your team, and so it is totally different. You’re not just a fan anymore, and having a conversation while the game is going on. You’re studying every single play. It’s work. It is work.”